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Lari Pittman in "Romance"
Lari Pittman’s references and background which inspire his paintings and drawings include the freedom and chaos of the city, his memories of growing up in Colombia and his “very, very strong Mediterranean core.”
Despite a charmed childhood, Pittman explains that what keeps him “radicalized” is an awareness of this country’s attitude towards the gay community. He also explains how he draws inspiration from religious images and retablos as well as gardening and landscaping. “I don’t respond to the idea of nature at large. I prefer landscaping,” says Pittman, “…landscaping as a way to push back, a little bit, the chaos of nature…the kind of violence of it.”
More information and creditsCredits
Created by: Susan Sollins & Susan Dowling. Executive Producer & Curator: Susan Sollins. Series Producer: Eve-Laure Moros Ortega. Associate Producer: Migs Wright. Associate Curator: Wesley Miller. Production Manager: Alice Bertoni & Nick Ravich. Production Coordinator: Amanda Donnan & Meredith Klein. Consulting Director: Catherine Tatge. Editor: Mark Sutton. Director of Photography: Martial Barrault, Terry Doe, Bob Elfstrom, Mead Hunt, & Joel Shapiro. Additional Photography: Bernd Meiners. Sound: Tom Bergin, Ray Day, Ron Garson, Judy Karp, Gilles Metivier, Roger Phenix, & Merce Williams. Assistant Camera: Craig Feldman, Brian Hwang, Cyril Mulon, & Michael Pruitt-Bruun. Field Producer: Charles Atlas. Production Assistant: Marissa Berrong, Kam Stocks, & Daniel Swann. Additional Animation: Shawn Dunbar.
Creative Consultant: Ed Sherin. Art Direction & Design: Open, New York. On-Line Editor: Don Wyllie. Composer: Peter Foley. Voice-Over Artist: Jace Alexander. Sound Editing: Margaret Crimmins & Greg Smith. Sound Mix: Cory Melious & Tony Volante. Animation Stand: Frank Ferrigno. Assistant Editor: Ahmed Amer, Jennifer Chiurco, & George Panos.
Artworks Courtesy of: Pierre Huyghe; Judy Pfaff; Lari Pittman; Laurie Simmons; Ameringer & Yohe Fine Art, New York; Barbara Gladstone Gallery, New York; Double Wide Media; Gladstone Gallery, New York; Marian Goodman Gallery, New York/Paris; Performa 05; Regen Projects, Los Angeles; Salon 94, New York; & Sperone Westwater, New York. Archival Footage Courtesy of: Judy Pfaff Studio.
Special Thanks: Lisa Albaugh; Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation; The Art21 Board of Trustees; Atle Gerhardsen, Berlin; Catherine Belloy; Tanya Brodsky; Bettina Bruning; Shawn Caley Regen; Karina Daskalov; Dog Bark Sound; Bridget Donahue; Roy Dowell; Sophie Dufour; Jeanne Englert; Don Faller; Ruth Findlay; Frame:Runner NYC; Maike Fries; Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn; Industria Studios, New York; Meredith Klein; Rose Lord; Sheila Lynch; Anna Miller; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Adam Ottavi-Schiesl; Karen Polack; Paul Power; Thomas Quigley; Andre Ribuoli; Donald Rosenfeld; Sound Lounge; Fabienne Stephan; Meryl Streep; Tate Modern, London; Rob van Erve; Dawson Weber; Chris Webster; Kori Wilson; & James Yohe.
Director of Education & Public Programs: Tana Hargest. Education Consultant: Jessica Hamlin. Manager of Public Programs & Outreach: Kelly Shindler. Web Producer: Ana Otero. Senior Development Officer: Beth Allen. Development Associate: Sara Simonson. Development Coordinator: Erin Cesta & Katherine Payne.
Interns: Stephanie Abraitis, Alex Agnant, Gabriella della Croce, Nora Herting, Milena Hoegsberg, Rives Kitchell, Katie McCurry, Simone Otenaike, Karoline Pfeiffer, Nick Pozek, Carolina Puente, Muña Qamar, Bettina Riccio Henry, Meg Scally, Karen Seapker, Peter Sebeckis, Lucy Strong, & Kelly Williamson.
Public Relations: Goodman Media International. Station Relations: De Shields Associates, Inc. Legal Counsel: Albert Gottesman. Bookkeeper: Marea Alverio-Chaveco & Valerie Riley. Travel Agent: Lita Gottesman.
Major underwriting for Season 4 of Art in the Twenty-First Century is provided by National Endowment for the Arts, PBS, Agnes Gund and Daniel Shapiro, Nathan Cummings Foundation, Bloomberg, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, Bagley Wright Fund, and W.L.S. Spencer Foundation.
Closed captionsAvailable in English, German, Romanian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Italian
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Inspired by commercial advertising, folk art, and decorative traditions, Lari Pittman’s meticulously layered paintings transform pattern and signage into luxurious scenes fraught with complexity, difference, and desire. Pittman uses anthropomorphic depictions of furniture, weapons, and animals—loaded with symbolism—to convey themes of romantic love, violence, and mortality. Despite subject matter that changes from series to series, Pittman’s deployment of simultaneously occurring narratives and opulent imagery reflects the rich heterogeneity of American society, the artist’s Colombian heritage, and the distorting effects of hyper-capitalism on everyday life.
“I don’t respond to the idea of nature at large. I prefer landscaping…as a way to push back, a little bit, the chaos of nature…the kind of violence of it.”
Lari Pittman
